A 3-2 Friday night on the farm saw one of the affiliates clinch a playoff berth.


The Vancouver Canadians will get a chance to defend its Northwest League championship as they host Everett in Game 1 of the NWL West Division playoffs Monday afternoon at Nat Bailey Stadium.

Two stellar pitching performances distinguished the five games on the farm tonight, as two teams prepare for the playoffs and one still strives to qualify.

Vancouver took a beating while Eugene won, putting the Canadians a half game behind in their playoff race.   Las Vegas stayed mathematically alive thanks to Anthony Gose and Yan Gomes.  Their elimination number is one.  Bluefield lost their final game of the season.  New Hampshire lost in extra innings, Lansing also lost while Dunedin swept both ends of a doubleheader from the Yankees Tampa team.  Casey Lawrence pitched a complete game to win game one.  In game two Dunedin won 1-0 with new Jay Amadeo Zuzueta driving in the only run.

Playoff Situation

In: Dunedin and Lansing

Still competing:  Vancouver and Las Vegas (barely)

Out: New Hampshire, Bluefield and the GCL Jays

The affiliates were 3-1 on Monday with one rainout.  The club with the scheduled day off received some good news from the out of town scoreboard.

There wasn't much offense to go around but there were some interesting pitching performances on the day, including an 11-K performance by Deivy Estrada in Bluefield.

It was five losses out of seven for the affiliates Saturday night and Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos was in the house to see one of them.

Las Vegas stayed in the hunt in their division with their second win in Tacoma to stay 5 games behind Sacremento in the Pacific Southern of the PCL.  Two offensive weapons returned to the 51s when Hechavarria and Gose were sent down to Las Vegas late in the evening.  New Hampshire, Dunedin, Vancouver and the GCL Blue Jays all won as well.

Of course, the re-habbing Jose Bautista might have had a little to do with that calculation.

It was a mixed night on the farm as Dunedin and Lansing won comfortably and Bluefield won by a single run, but the Fisher Cats and GCL Blue Jays each lost by three, the 51’s lost by two and the Canadians also were defeated.

There was little of note happening on the farm on Tuesday. The good guys were whitewashed, no wins in six games. Hits were in short supply, the GCL Jays had two hits, Lansing had three, Las Vegas had four, Vancouver six. You get the picture.

The affiliates posted a .667 winning percentage based on a 4-2 record Monday night.  Two teams had to be ecstatic that their offence reached double digits in the run column and the opposition was held to two runs or less in every game except one.

Dunedin and Lansing combined for just seven hits. Both starting pitchers - Jesse Hernandez and Blake McFarland - were roughed up.

Three wins in eight tries for the affiliates were highlighted by a couple of big nights.

Eight games played on the farm, the good guys won half of them, and an dd thing happened in Lansing.

At the top of the farm, the Las Vegas 51s showed they are getting more comfortable with their new roster members and took out the most successful team in the PCL on Wednesday night.  They stayed in the chase, improving their standing in the battle for a playoff spot in their division.